[kevvan]

I am looking to learn if anyone knows where a British national hive can be purchased in the US. Are there any suppliers?
While I am looking for a National hive form factor, I would also consider a Dadant, or Dadant Blatt.

I can of course ship from the EU, but the cost to ship is sometimes two to three times higher than the actual cost of a beginner kit.

Thanks in advance...



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Like our beloved bees, when beekeepers go together we can accomplish great things...

 

[trishbookworm]

Wow, custom everything. Nope. That's a job you would commission from someone.

According to Hive dimensions – Devon Beekeepers' Association, there's a deep and a shallower version of the National. The shallower version is 8.5" tall, which is pretty similar to our langstroth deep.

I use a Modified Dadant, which has 12.75" tall frames. The box is exactly 2 mediums tall. For my first few boxes, I just assembled then glued 2 mediums together. Now I just make my stuff - have a router table!

For the frames, I ordered those from WellerBeeSupply.com. They made the frames.

For the foundation, we used a table saw to cut plastic foundation so that I could fit 2 pieces sideways - the hexagonal patter was the same as far as the bees were concerned, but I did have to use the router to slim the fresh cut edge. Another solution I could have used was to use wax foundation for this, but that was more work than I though was worth it.

I love the single-box brood chamber. Managing it is easier than figuring out what is in 2 boxes in 1 visit. I was worried that the queen would need more room - but she usually lays in only 8 of the 10 frames, about 3/4 of the frames, even with honey supers on. Sometimes there is brood out to the 1st and 10th frames, especially drone brood.

Another option to duplicate this space (but not require special frames) is to use a deep and a shallow for the brood chamber. I'm doing that too this upcoming year.

 

[JConnolly]

I'm wondering what the reasons are. Management of a national hive is the same as the management of a Langstroth hive, it won't be a different beekeeping experience. According to Dave Cushman the National was first known as the simplicity hive. It was supposed to be a hive that was easy to build without complex joinery. You can make a national with just a handsaw and a hammer, or these days with a cordless circular saw and a cordless drill. You could probably purchase the tools to make the boxes for less than the shipping.